Crocheted Baby Booties

I made one of these on Christmas eve and the other Christmas morning. Can you guess what baby they're for?

Find out who's having a baby, and see what else I made for the little one at my new blogsite.

What's in those cups?

I guess you can tell that wrapped around those mugs are mug cozies I knit. I made a baker's dozen to give as gifts at Pfeiffer Nature Center, the not-for-profit I work for.

Not satisfied with knitting the mug cozies and the inexpensive mugs I wrapped them around, I made yummies to stick inside them. You've probably figured out that they're dipped pretzels, but you'll have to visit my new blogsite to learn about the interesting flavors I used.

Handwoven Alpaca Scarves

I just finished these handwoven alpaca scarves. I like the houndstooth pattern and the colors.

Learn how I dyed the yarn, what I wove on, and more about these alpaca scarves at my new blogsite.

Handwoven Rayon Chenille Scarves

When are red & purple NOT just for old ladies?

When they're as beautiful & fashionable as these handwoven rayon chenille scarves!

Woven with hand painted yarn, these scarves add a touch of brightness to everyone who wears them.

Learn more about them at my new blogsite, or buy one from my website. They're great holiday gifts!

New Healing Gemstone Necklace

This is my latest design for a healing gemstone necklace and coordinating earrings. Can you identify the gemstones I used?

Learn about this stone, and its healing properties, at my new blogsite.

Allegany Artisans Studio Tour

Handwoven scarves and handcrafted gemstone jewelry has taken over not just my life, but my home. Here's a corner of my dining room, set up for the Allegany Artisans Studio Tour.

Stop by my new blogsite for more photos.

Better yet -- visit me on the tour this year!

Still Life with Yarn

I enjoyed setting up this still life with tools of my trade. Visit my new blogsite to learn about these yarns, and why I set up this photo.

Painting with Nail Polish

It's probably pretty easy to see that I painted with nail polish, but difficult to figure out what the heck this is a picture of.

They are the heddle bars of my 8 harness Macomber weaving loom.

I took this unusual step in an effort to make my life easier. Time will tell if it works.

Is your curiosity peaked? Learn more at my new blogsite.

Rigid Heddle Weaving

I made these three handwoven bamboo scarves on my little rigid heddle loom while I was working the last show I did. People are always fascinated to watch me weave, even on this simple loom. I'm always happy to share the process with them.

Check out my new blogsite to learn more about these scarves.......and other things about life.

Scarf For Royalty

I'm still loving making the handwoven cashmere scarves. My latest warp of three scarves was in royal purple, woven in a more complex and tighter pattern than I've used for this yarn before.

Get more detail and see the other two in this warp at my new blogsite. I hope you'll stop by.

Royal Purple Handwoven Cashmere

I finished weaving another warp of three cashmere & silk scarves. I’m so glad I discovered the trick of preparing the warp so I can do three at a time without pulling out my hair!

This time I wanted to try a woven lace pattern that was a bit more complex, requiring me to use my 8 harness Macomber loom instead of my 4 harness counterbalance loom that I use more than 80% of the time. This alternate lace pattern also needed to b woven tighter than the other cashmere & silk scarves in order to produce the end result I was after. So instead of setting at 18 ends per inch, as I have done with the others, I threaded the reed for 36 ends per inch – twice as thickly.

I was crossing my fingers that I’d like the pattern, since it required 360 ends to give me a scarf that would end up being around 9 wide. That was a lot of winding on the warping board, and much more time consuming, a lot of threading through 360 heddles. I guess I wasn’t in exactly the right frame of mind while I was threading – not enough focus – because I probably ended up threading 500 heddles by the time I was done. How is that possible? I kept making threading errors that I’d catch at the end of a bundle of 50 threads (that was one pattern repeat) and have to take lots of threads out and re-do. Even so, when it was all threaded through heddles and reed, tied to the front beam, and I was weaving the fringe spacer header, I found another threading error. I SURE wasn’t going to unthread more than needed, so the easiest fix was to make two string repair heddles an tie them into place.

Anyhow....once it was all done, I started weaving the pattern, and I could tell immediately that I did like it. Yippee!

Nowhere near as thin as the earlier ones, I think these are beautiful in their own right. Granted, they don’t drape quite as softly, but they have more sheen. There’s always some trade off.

The center scarf is the first one I wove — a diamond huck lace pattern that I think is really pretty. On the right I changed the treadling slightly. It’s hard to see the difference in the pattern in this photo; it’s pretty subtle even in real life. On the left, I went back to the first treadling pattern, but dramatically changed the firmness of the beating. I think you can see that the diamond pattern is substantially elongated and the scarf is much thinner. I like it, too. I’d be hard pressed to choose which I prefer.

I’m anxious to see shopper’s reactions at the upcoming Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts. If you’re in the Buffalo area, I hop you’ll stop by and give me your input.

August 18th, 2010

More Orange Cashmere Scarves

 As planned, I tried preparing a warp for three scarves using two cones at a time to measure it.

I was THRILLED!!! The warp went on the loom like a charm! Not a glitch, not a hitch, not a problem for the 8.5 yard length! It wa as easy as beaming the bamboo, the rayon, or the cotton. This will definitely make my life easier, and make weaving these lighter-than-air scarves more time efficient.

Here are the handwoven orange cashmere silk scarves I made with that warp.

I wove two like the one on the left, with three strips of huck lace. They are lovely; next time I’ll weave them a tiny bit tighter to make them a tad more stable. On the right is, of course, a plain weave. I like that one, too.

In addition to showing off my handwoven scarves, this picture also meets Carmi’s orange challenge. Your turn – anything orange in your life?

August 9th, 2010

Wildflower Wonder

This beautiful nightshade is just one of the many wildflowers that make my daily walks so enjoyable.

See more of them, and share your thoughts, at my new blogsite.

Making Connections

For decades I've been living with a dialup connection. Today I made the breakthrough to the 20th century (no, I'm not in the 21st yet), getting a satellite dish for my internet -- what we call high speed in the country.

Learn more about the challenges that have yet to be overcome at my new blogsite.

Louis XIV

I've had to periodically get my leg iced and elevated, so I can't weave for long periods at a time. I'm getting some weaving done, and still making some Victorian Christmas ornaments. I think it's obvious why I've nicknamed this one Louis XIV.

Check out my new blogsite to see more. Or visit my website to see them all, and to make a purchase, if you'd like.

Lavender Cashmere Silk Scarves

I managed to get these four scarves woven of a 50-50 cashmere silk blend before I had surgery. I do love this fiber, despite the fact that it's a bit of a bear to beam.

Check my new blogsite for more details on these scarves.

Lavender Cashmere Scarves

 These were the last four scarves I finished weaving before the knee surgery.

I’m still finding beaming the fine gauge cashmere-silk blend (6,000 yards/pound) a challenge, so I’m still preparing warp for just two handwoven scarves at a time. This photo therefore represents two separate warps, two separate threadings.

At the far right is a Swedish lace scarves woven in alternating windowpane blocks. That was warped with the tabby at the bottom left. Second from left is a huck lace in woven in rectangles of different widths, which was warped with the scarf at the top left. Also a plain weave, I did a hand manipulated leno at the ends: 3 bands at each end. Since it’s hand manipulated, leno is time consuming, but I do like the way it looks, lending a great airiness in a little space. With a few bands at the ends, I think it adds a lot of class to a tabby weave scarf.

I must admit, the lavender color is substantially lighter than shown in the picture — I tried several different camera settings to ge the color accurately, all unsuccessfully. You’ll just have to take my word for the color.

July 24th, 2010 | Tags: cashmere, handwoven lace, handwoven scarves, silk | Category: Weaving | Edit this post 5 

Hand Painted Yarn

This is the latest hand painted yarn I purchased from Yarntopia Treasures. I managed to wind it all into balls while keeping my leg elevated. The collection is so beautiful, I had to share it with you.

Visit my new blogsite for more info on this and other posts.

Victorian Christmas Ornaments

While I've been laid up, I've been making my hand-beaded Victorian Christmas ornaments. This is my last one, and the fanciest of the batch of 8 I made in the last week.

See all of them at my new blogsite.

Rigid Heddle Weaving

Children helped me to handweave these two bamboo scarves on my little rigid heddle loom recently. Learn more about them at my new blogsite.

The Mummy Rests

Brraaahahaha!

How do you spell that evil laugh that vampires, mummies, and other creatures from Friday Night Fright Night of old emitted?

I don't know that, but I do know that my leg looks rather like a mummy. Find out why at my new blog.

Asheville Beauty

My wonderful kids took me for a mini vacation to Asheville, NC. We did see some beautiful sights and eat some great food, but the best part of the whole trip was spending 4 days with them.

See more of the sights and get more of the story at my new blogsite.

Lots 'O Weaving

I've been weaving scarves and placemats, lately using bamboo, a cashmere-silk blend, and pearl cotton. You can see lots of pictures at my new blogsite. You can also catch up on my garden and my manual labor.

I hope you'll stop by!

Fuzzy Babies

Aren't these little ones cute? Or are you one of those who find baby birds looks only those that a mother could love?

Either way, go to my new blogsite to learn more about these babies and why they're in a wreath.

Handwoven Swedish Lace Scarves

 I’ve been a very bad blogger, but at least I’ve been a good weaver. I have good excuses. In the space of 21 days between May 22 and June 8 I have two shows — Routes to Art and Kenan Center’s 100 American Craftsmen — a major fundraiser for Pfeiffer Nature Center where I work, and, most importantly, MY DAUGHTER’S wedding!

I won’t bore you with a post on every scarf I’ve made; instead I’ll show you the recent scarves by grouping.

Although when I’m showing new handwoven scarves to Margaret to gather local critique I always show her my favorites last, I’m going to reverse that here, and show you my favorites first.

And what are those favorites, you might ask? It’s the new Swedish lace scarves. I wove them in alternating blocks. I was initially afraid it’d look a bit like a checkerboard, detracting from the classy look I was going for.

First I did them in a fine gauge Mora wool, approximately 4,700 yards per pound (ypp).

Yippee – I liked the way they looked! Although that wool is pretty fine, they look clunky compared to the next batch...

Now it was time to move to the fiber I really wanted to do them with, a VERY fine cashmere-silk blend in a lovely orange color. Â This yarn is about 6,000 ypp

I’m not usually an orange person, but I really love these scarves. Obviously, the scarf on the left is the Swedish lace blocks, and the one on the right is a simple tabby weave. In both cases, the finished product is light as air, soft as silk, and drapes like a dream.

Like my other handwoven lace scarves, I wove these on my little counterbalance loom. I do love this vintage, handmade beauty, and use it whenever possible, and it never complains, even when I ask it to go outside its comfort zone and weave 1 harness against 3, such as when I’m making woven lace.

I took them to Routes to Art this weekend, my first show of the season, and got lots of great feedback. I will DEFINITELY be making more cashmere silk scarves! In fact, I think I’d better go order more of that yarn right now!

May 22nd, 2010

Bad blogger, good weaver

Time always manages to get away from me. This month I have a great excuse...in a three week period I have two shows, a major fund raiser for my office, and my daughter's wedding. Needless to say, I've been a tad busy.

But even though I wasn't blogging, I never stopped weaving.

Here are two Swedish lace scarves I did recently.

Check out my new blogsite to learn more.

Handwoven Bamboo Scarves

Although I've been away from blogging, I've been busily weaving. Here are some of my new creations.

First, here's a set of three handwoven scarves in 100% bamboo. These three scarves share a common warp, set in random stripes of honey, acorn, ecru, and navy. One warp was solid honey advancing twill, one solid acorn woven in a tabby weave (my personal favorite from this batch), and one in solid acorn with an unusual point twill design. Learn more about that design at my new blogsite.

Here's another set of three bamboo handwovens. The warp for these three was a solid ecru, and as you can see, two of them have that same ecru weft, in two different weave patterns. The third has a navy warp to create an interesting weave pattern. See which one I like best at my new blogsite.

Now for a log cabin design, using a black 100% bamboo yarn alternating with a handpainted bamboo-cotton blend. I really love this scarf, and it's gotten me lots of positive comments from those who've seen it in person. Get more of the background at my new blogsite.

I'm going to save my complete favorite for the next post. Check back soon.

Why am I now posting a picture of ice?

In addition to the fact that I think it's beautiful, it's in response to Carmi's weekly challenge.

See more of my work at my new blogsite, and join in Carmi's game.

You Still Have Dial Up?!

I do still have a dial up internet connection. Crazy, in 2010, isn't it? For some years I truly didn't have any option. Then I did, but couldn't afford it. Now I'm back to fairly option-less.

Read the whole story at my new blogsite, and give me some suggestions on how to change my situation that don't involve moving from my beautiful country home.

Lots of New Handwoven Scarves

Yikes! Somehow I've managed to get a lot of weaving done that didn't make it up here for you to see. Wintergreen bamboo, handpainted variegated moccasin and blue violet bamboo cotton, and variations on those themes. I've made flat scarves and infinity scarves, twill scarves and plain weave scarves, wide scarves and narrow scarves.

Check them all out on my new blogsite, unless you're ready to make a purchase at my website.

Bamboo Cotton Scarves

I've made two more sets of handwoven scarves in Tammy's bamboo-cotton blend. Here is her New York colorway, the Olive Oil ones are in the post below.

I wound each warp for four scarves, and made three regular and one finished into an infinity scarf. I'm still hard at work to meet Jan's scarf-a-day challenge for the month of February. Visit my new blogsite for more details, and to see what I'm working on now.

Handwoven Infinity Scarves

My daughter suggested that I make some infinity scarves, and I'm so glad she did! I enjoy making them, love the way the look and how easy they are to wear. There are also seemingly endless possibilities for length and width, resulting in endless possibilities for this must-have fashion accessory.

Visit my new blogsite or my website for more information.

My Latest Handwoven Scarves

Even though I haven't posted lately, I've been weaving up a storm. I've joined Jan's Scarf A Day challenge for the month of February, and I'm right on track.

I've moved from the rayon chenille to some hand painted bamboo-cotton blends for a while, weaving scarves that are better suited to the warmer weather.

I've been using bright pinks that make me smile, and earthy greens.

I've also made some handwoven infinity scarves. Check my new blogsite to get all the details.

Handwoven Placemats

These neutral color placemats came off the loom on Sunday. I spent hours doing tiny little hand hemming stitches on both ends of 8 placemats. I think it was worth the time, as it really finished these elegant placemats in style.

Read more about this weaving at my new blogsite.

Handwoven Rayon Chenille Shawl

I recently finished making this beautiful handwoven shawl. I love the rich blues and purples in this shawl, made from hand painted rayon chenille.

To see something else that's purple and blue, visit my new blogsite.

Weaving with a Wool-Silk Blend

I made these beautiful scarves from a handpainted wool-silk blend yarn. I purposely used a very loose set, making the scarves nice and light.

Even though I'm very sensitive to wool, I can wrap these scarves around my neck with no trouble at all. Check out my new blogsite for more information, or go to my website to buy one.

Handwoven Table Linens

Thanks to help from my son, I got the Macomber loom set up and operating (albeit with a few issues to resolve) while he was home. I couldn't wait, and as soon as he headed home, I dressed the loom.

My first project on the new-to-me Mac was a set of 4 handwoven napkins and a table runner.

Read more about them and other interesting (?) stuff at my new blogsite.